Do I Miss My Hasselblad Xpan? I think I Do.

Some of my Xpan Shots, With 45mm f4 Lens

 

I used to own a Hasselblad Xpan and 45mm lens. It's the only Hasselblad I've ever owned. I liked it, but didn't love it at the time. It was valuable enough, I decided to sell it. Now, I wonder if that was a good idea. I was just getting into the panoramic composition. I have continued to play with panos, with a few different cameras that give me the option - the Reality So Subtle 6x17 pinhole camera is my favorite. I also have a Lomography Sprocket Rocket, and a 35mm wide (panoramic) back for my Bronica ETR. But, the Xpan was a nice combination of small size, flexibility (it can also shoot normal 35mm frames), and very high quality optics.

 

As I prepare for my upcoming vacation and hiking trip, I'm thinking about the Xpan again. My plan is to take my Fujifilm GS645S medium format rangefinder, and my Lumix DMC-LX100 on the trip. Both are excellent travel cameras. But, an Xpan would be great, especially for the hike.

 

Nick DeMarco of the Rangefinder Chronicles shoots an Xpan regularly. (Click Here) to see a nice post of Nick's work.

 

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Nick DeMarco (Rangefinder Chronicles) Uses His Hasselblad Xpan on the Street

 

 

 

DC Street Vendors, by Reed A. George

Hasselblad Xpan

 

I used to a Hasselblad Xpan panoramic camera. Shooting 24x65mm images on regular 35mm film, it was interesting. I've always been partial to panoramic images.

 

I sold mine, for two major reasons: 1) it was worth too much money for the amount I used it, and 2) I found a panoramic back for my Bronica ETRS. I feel like I had just begun to get how to compose with the XPan when I sold it. Probably too soon. And, I have not used the Bronica pano back nearly as much as I expected.

 

What I did shoot with the Xpan was mostly landscapes.

 

I recently read a post on Nick DeMarco's Rangefinder Chronicles blog about how he uses the Xpan for street photography. (Click Here) to read about it on Nick's blog. He's got some great work there.

 

This doesn't have me back in the market for an Xpan, but it does make me motivated to get out with the Bronica. It's been sitting for far too long.

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

What About the Hasselblad Xpan Panoramic Camera?

I read an interesting post on Steve Huff's blog site, written by Brett Price, who is a new Xpan user. I used to own one, but sold it. I figured this was a good time to revisit that camera.

 

(Click Here) to read Brett's post and see some of his images.

 

Brett makes a few interesting points about using the Xpan. He uses the same normal lens I had, which is a 45mm f4, which he finds very sharp. Brett doesn't think his style of imaging changed much going to the panoramic format, but does think it makes his shots more dramatic.

 

I always felt a little limited with a maximum aperture of f4. I did find my Xpan to produce sharp images, but nothing like my Leica, for example. It's possible that my Xpan needed a rangefinder adjustment. I'll never know, as I no longer own the camera. Unlike Brett, I found that I had to completely transform my thoughts on composition to make images that worked with the panoramic format. This was a process, and one that I was happy to go through. In fact, once I learned how to use it, I was sort of done with the camera. I still like to shoot panoramas once in a while, but use my Bronica ETRS with wide 35mm film back when the urge strikes me. I also have a Lomo Sprocket Rocket (see Amazon link below) that shoots in panoramic format; it's a very fun camera.

 

Here are some examples of my images I took with the Xpan I used to own:

 

Farm Implement, by Reed A. George

Hasselblad Xpan, 45mm f4 Lens

 

 

Barn Door, Uncommon Composition, by Reed A. George

Hasselblad Xpan, 45mm f4 Lens

 

 

Barn and Trees, by Reed A. George

Hasselblad Xpan, 45mm f4 Lens

 

Sculpture, Hirshhorn Museum, by Reed A. George

Hasselblad Xpan, 45mm f4 Lens

 

Yoko Ono's Wish Tree, Washington, DC, by Reed A. George

Hasselblad Xpan, 45mm f4 Lens

 

Do I miss the Xpan? Not particularly. But, here's one place that I really agree with Brett - if Hasselblad were to produce a digital Xpan, I would be sorely tempted to buy one.

 

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